Shooting stars

Fame isn’t fleeting for Gem Village’s Billy Goat Saloon

Crew members prepare for a dance scene by actress Maria Johnson (Angel) at the fictional topless bar The Round-Up, at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village. Epiphany Pictures is filming Cowboys and Indians at locations in Colorado and Arizona.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew plays Gas in the Epiphany Pictures production Cowboys and Indians. Some scenes were shot at Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village. The drama is written and directed by Ian McCrudden and produced by Athena Lobit.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Writer and director Ian McCrudden checks the framing of a shot with camera operator Douglas Chapin on Friday during filming of the Epiphany Pictures production Cowboys and Indians at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew (Gas) runs through a conflict scene with Maria Johnson (Angel) behind the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village during filming of the movie Cowboys and Indians, an Epiphany Pictures production.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Writer and director Ian McCrudden hugs supporting actress Lisa D Amato after a good take during filming of Cowboys and Indians on Friday at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew, playing the role of Gas, runs through a conflict scene with Maria Johnson, playing the role of Ruby Knox behind the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village during the filming of the movie Cowboys and Indians, am Epiphany Pictures production. The modern day drama is written and directed by Ian McCrudden and produced by Athena Lobit.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Patrons were welcome watch filming of Cowboys and Indians on Friday at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village, but they were asked to be on their best behavior.

Last year, the Billy Goat Saloon gained national recognition as Dive Bar of the Month on the Internet. Now, the Gem Village institution is going for movie-star celebrity.

Epiphany Pictures, a Colorado-based production company, spent three days last week shooting scenes for the firms forthcoming release Cowboys and Indians, a modern-day drama set and shot mostly in Pagosa Springs and Tucson, Ariz.

It follows the life of Angel (played by Maria Johnson, also known as adult-film star Ruby Knox), a Paiute Indian woman who lives desperately on the edge after having been raped. The Billy Goat stars as The Round-Up, a topless bar where she earns her living. (The Billy Goat has not really gone topless  its just showbiz.)

Angel tries her best to raise her son, Gas, the product of the rape, but the 14-year-old runs away from home and is picked up by a hard-up cowboy, Twisty, who was present on the fateful night. As Twisty explains to the boy his mothers history, the boy is grateful to the cowboy for elucidating many unanswered questions about his past.

Epiphany has not given an estimated release date for Cowboys and Indians.

ted@durangoherald.com

Shooting stars

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Crew members prepare for a dance scene by actress Maria Johnson (Angel) at the fictional topless bar The Round-Up, at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village. Epiphany Pictures is filming Cowboys and Indians at locations in Colorado and Arizona.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew plays Gas in the Epiphany Pictures production Cowboys and Indians. Some scenes were shot at Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village. The drama is written and directed by Ian McCrudden and produced by Athena Lobit.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Writer and director Ian McCrudden checks the framing of a shot with camera operator Douglas Chapin on Friday during filming of the Epiphany Pictures production Cowboys and Indians at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew (Gas) runs through a conflict scene with Maria Johnson (Angel) behind the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village during filming of the movie Cowboys and Indians, an Epiphany Pictures production.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Writer and director Ian McCrudden hugs supporting actress Lisa D Amato after a good take during filming of Cowboys and Indians on Friday at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Kyle Agnew, playing the role of Gas, runs through a conflict scene with Maria Johnson, playing the role of Ruby Knox behind the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village during the filming of the movie Cowboys and Indians, am Epiphany Pictures production. The modern day drama is written and directed by Ian McCrudden and produced by Athena Lobit.

SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Patrons were welcome watch filming of Cowboys and Indians on Friday at the Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village, but they were asked to be on their best behavior.